What can I say? It looks like all the waiting is finally paying off. It took a while for Carlivati and Valenti to move the pieces around following the unfortunate shift of three integral characters into new (Franco is kind of new now – admit it) personalities, but they did it and it was well worth the wait. Kiki has come between brothers and fathers and sons, Franco has reinvigorated the Quartermaines and given Carly a possible love story. Silas has loosened up a bit and seems to be a possibility for Sam but, hold the presses (the ones that Derek Wells just bought), he’s smoking hot with Ava.

That’s story number two in this rise from chaos. After bringing in newbies we could’ve cared less about, in the past few months we’ve seen the return of Nikolas, and the introduction of Ava and Julian Jerome – new characters that connect to the past. They tie in with Duke and Anna! They tie in with Alexis! They tie into Sonny and the murder mystery around Connie’s death (although who doesn’t think the AJ has to be Ava Jerome).

The only thing that still needs work is Elizabeth! I don’t want to be ungrateful – she’s on more than she’s been on in years, but the AJ story doesn’t have any chemistry. I can’t help but hope they’re growing Britt and Nik so they can give Elizabeth something to break up. So we can see Nik trying to stay good and be loyal to Britt while throwing longing glances at Elizabeth.

Still, it would be easier to connect Elizabeth and Nikolas in to the stories with Maxie, Spinelli, Patrick, Sabrina, and Felix….especially when Robin returns!

One more compliment for the day (Friday, Sept. 19th). Maurice Bernard kicked ass in his portrayal of a manic episode today at the party. Using the mania as the excuse for revealing that Morgan knew about Michael not being related to Kiki was genius. And saving it for the last moment before the weekend made me howl out loud for the first time in a long time. General Hospital is must watch stuff right now.

***But please, still hoping for a more balanced airing of stories – haven’t seen quite a few characters in days and it messes with momentum.